Chapter 41: A Step on Solid Ground

The airlock of the shuttle hissed open.

For the first time in ages, Lin Yu set foot on solid ground again.

It was different from hundreds of years ago—these days, hardly anyone gets the chance to walk on a planet’s surface, especially someone like Lin Yu, just eighteen.

Outside of a mandatory month-long stay each year on their homeworld to keep young people psychologically stable, almost everyone spends their lives in outer space.

More than five centuries ago, humanity first pulled off the feat of landing on Mars.

Then, after three centuries of effort, they terraformed Mars until it could finally support human life.

That’s why the Federation could afford to abandon everything beyond the asteroid belt for now, but never Mars.

After all, the other planets only had a handful of workers and scientists. Evacuating them was easy.

But Mars… that was different.

Even if it doesn’t match Earth’s insane population, Mars still has over a billion people.

Not to mention the vast industrial complex sprawled across Mars itself and throughout its orbit.

Most importantly…

Losing Mars would mean losing the Asteroid Belt.

And without the Asteroid Belt…

Game over.

Nearly all of humanity’s resources—almost ninety-nine percent—come from the Asteroid Belt these days.

Sure, the Kuiper Belt is another treasure trove, but it’s so far that a round trip takes twenty months. No one’s even bothered to develop it.

And thanks to the Kleins, humanity can’t get anywhere near the Kuiper Belt now anyway.

So, whether humankind survives or disappears hinges to a huge extent on holding Mars.

Mars has never been so crucial in all of human history.

——

“Lin Yu, I’ve always wanted to ask—what about your family?”

“Three whole years at the Academy, and I’ve never once seen them. Come to think of it, I don’t think you’ve ever gone home for a holiday either.”

After stepping off the shuttle, Lin Yu pressed his feet into the ground, letting himself really feel that gravity again.

Just then, Andrei broke the silence.

Beside him, George perked up, listening in.

He’d never cared about this before—never even thought to ask.

But ever since he learned that his own father tampered with Lin Yu’s brain scan, and saw how the higher-ups treated Lin Yu, he was almost certain: Lin Yu’s innate brain development had to be over twenty-five percent.

Of course, like with Mu Qingxue’s twenty-seven percent, which is one of the Federation’s top secrets—barely a handful even know about it.

So in George’s mind, Lin Yu was probably the first ever person with over twenty-five percent innate brain development.

So what kind of parents could produce someone like that?

A person’s innate brain development largely depends on their parents, after all.

Back before the Hyper-Evolution era, why were the so-called ‘Children of Space’ so extraordinary?

It was all thanks to parents who were astronauts—people who had unlocked their own genetic shackles ahead of everyone else.

Naturally, their children reaped those benefits from birth—their innate brain development was already above the norm.

It stood to reason…

Lin Yu’s parents must’ve been outstanding—maybe even from some ancient, powerful family.

That’s how George saw it.

But what a shame…

“I have no idea. I grew up in an orphanage on Mars. I don’t know who my parents are—or even if I have any family at all.”

That left both Andrei and George speechless.

An orphan?

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I lie about that?” Lin Yu replied, clearly annoyed.

Andrei, who’d asked the question, scratched his head, awkward.

“Sorry, sorry—I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… I can hardly believe it!”

“But… have you ever thought about looking for your parents?”

Lin Yu paused, thinking for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

“Nope.”

——

Everyone knew Lin Yu had a remarkable memory—but even so…

He’d never told anyone just how far that went. Lin Yu could remember, vividly, even the moment he first opened his eyes as a newborn.

In a vast, empty room, baby Lin Yu struggled to open his eyes.

He saw a woman—so beautiful it didn’t even seem real.

Even now, not even Mu Qingxue—with her reputation as the Federation Fleet’s top beauty—could match her.

This woman wore a white lab coat and gazed at him with a look of pity.

Soon enough, another woman in a white coat stepped into the room.

“Has he been named yet?”

“He’ll take my family name—Lin. I hope that someday, he’ll lead humanity beyond the Solar System, into the galaxy.”

“We’ll call him Lin Yu!”

The next moment, still just a baby, Lin Yu was swept up by a heavy wave of drowsiness.

His eyes slowly closed.

That memory—his very first—is burned into Lin Yu’s mind.

But who was that woman? Was she his mother? Lin Yu had no answers.

For the last eighteen years, he’d tried to find her. But—

After searching every female scientist in the Federation and comparing faces with the one in his memory, he came up empty.

It was as if she’d never existed at all.

Of course, there was another possibility—

Maybe this woman was a highly-classified Federation operative, and ordinary people simply couldn’t access her records.

That was possible.

But it wasn’t something Lin Yu could pursue right now.

——

After parting ways with George and Andrei,

Lin Yu arrived in Mars City No. 37.

Humans had raised 288 cities on Mars, ranging in size; the largest, City No. 1, boasted a population of twenty million. The one Lin Yu had come to—City 37—had around 1.8 million.

So, medium-small by local standards.

Lin Yu had been officially serving with the Fleet for five months now.

Fleet life took care of everything—meals, clothes, lodging. There was nothing to spend money on. Add in the fact that military pay was high—especially in the Fleet, much higher than other branches.

So why, with grades as good as his, did Lin Yu choose to attend the First Federation Advanced Military Academy?

A big part of the reason was—

He’d signed an agreement with the Federation Fleet when he was young.

Even though the government paid for primary through high school, that didn’t mean life was free.

It was fine up through high school, but university tuition was way out of reach for an orphan.

So, in high school, Lin Yu approached the Fleet and signed a contract.

In short: the Fleet would cover all of his university expenses and give him a living stipend of 3,000 credits monthly.

But it wasn’t charity.

Once he graduated, Lin Yu had to enroll at the First Federation Advanced Military Academy, and graduate with at least excellent marks.

After that, he’d serve in the Federation Fleet immediately. For fifty years, barring death or disabling injury, he couldn’t retire or transfer for any reason.

Basically, it was a buyout contract.

But for Lin Yu back then, it was the best choice.

To say nothing of the fact that the Federation Fleet was everyone’s dream employer—high salaries, peace, prestige, the chance to travel the stars…

There really wasn’t anything to agonize over.

But since everyone wanted in, why would the Fleet bother spending extra on people like Lin Yu?

Simple—his grades were unbeatable. He was top of his entire school.

The Fleet’s not stupid; why sponsor anyone less?

Anyone who could land an education sponsorship contract like that was a certified genius, no exceptions.

——

He tapped a few times on his smart computer.

A holographic interface shimmered to life, numbers blinking back at him.

287,560.00

Federation credits. Not bad.

For once, Lin Yu actually had money to spare.

He smiled, brushed away the projection, and headed into the shopping mall.